Alone
by Liquid Butterfly
Summary: He's been there for an hour at least. He's still clutching that cold, dead corpse., little does he know that it won't stay dead for long. Slash, Master/Doctor. Mild hints of Jack/Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

Alone

Warnings: hint of slash, master/doctor & jack/doctor. Lots of angst!

From Jack's POV.

* * *

I stare at the Doctor.

He's been over there for an hour at least. He's still clutching that cold, dead corpse. His head is buried in the Master's shoulder and he is gently swaying backward and forward almost like someone suffering from insanity; who knows, maybe he is. I can sense the desperation pouring off him in waves, he has no one. The only person he did have left is gone, nothing but an empty, soulless shell. I doubt he'll never let go.

Everyone was eager to get away from the Valiant, so there's only myself and the Doctor here now. There's a few government agents that keep walking around the base, sometimes shooting the Time Lord strange looks and sometimes even attempting to approach. I stop them, tell them who I am and who I work for, and they immediately back down. No one wants to mess with Torchwood. I don't know how long I can allow this to go on though, it's unhealthy. He' going to have to move some time, he can't stay here forever.

I take a deep breath and stand up, hesitantly walking towards the Doctor. My heart pounds against my chest, I know that this is a bad idea but simply cannot let this go on.

"Doctor?" I mutter softly, kneeling beside him. "It's time to let go." He isn't listening to me, he probably doesn't want to listen. I repeat his name a few times, but he still refuses to respond. I reach out my hand and place it gently on his shoulder. He shakes it away. This is going to be harder than I thought.  
"Leave me alone, Jack." his voice is hoarse and barely audible. His request sounds more like a plea than an order. I notice that he is holding the Master slightly tighter than before. Is he protecting the body, or the body protecting him? It doesn't really matter, I can feel myself getting impatient.

"You can't stay here forever." I say bluntly, I can't muster anything else. A few moments pass and he doesn't reply, so I nudge him, "Aren't you going to say anything?"  
"Don't touch me!" He snaps, violently smacking my arm away. He stares into my eyes and I are into his; pure windows into his soul; and for the first time ever I can feel the raw emotion that for him is never ending. His eyes are bloodshot, red and damp from all the tears shed."This is what you wanted, what you all wanted. Congratulations." His words and spoken in a growl, almost like a wild animal. Sometimes I wonder if that's all he really is. He places his head back on the Master's shoulder.

A mixture of anger and guilt bubble up inside me. I did everything I could to save that genocidal maniac, I could have snapped his neck right there and then when we had the perception filters, but I didn't. I stopped myself – for him, for the Doctor. Without thinking I grab a hand full of his spiky brown hair and yank his head backward, forcing him to look at me. He winces a little, but I have no intention of loosening my grip. Reckless Jack, reckless. Our faces are inches away from each other and I can tell that all he really wants to do is escape, to run.

"You spent a year trapped under his wrath, and now he's dead, and you are _still_ trapped. I'm trying to help you, why can't you see that!?" He's trembling, but I highly doubt it's out of fear. Well, not fear of me. A lone tear trickles down his delicate, pale cheeks.

_Delicate_. I never thought I'd use that word to describe the Doctor.

He glares at me, a silent threat. I sigh and let go, standing up and grabbing his coat. I drape it over his shoulders and turn to leave.

"I'll have to get rid of his body. I can't leave him for the humans." I hear him say. I look back, but he's just staring into the dead time lord's face. His voice radiates sadness, yet seems strangely empty at the same time. He struggles to his feet and puts on his long coat. He looks at the body and then at me, pleadingly. Who could resist that?

I stride over to him, picking up the Master bridal style and following the Doctor to the TARDIS. He keeps his head down the whole way and doesn't say a word, which is really unusual for him. I can't help but think that I'm not in on the big picture, he's hiding something.

Moments after we get inside, he's by the controls, pushing buttons and flipping switches. I hear the beautiful sound of the engine's song as we teleport through time and space. The journey is surprisingly smooth, usually when going on a trip in the TARDIS you expect a bumpy ride.

He opens the door and picks up the body himself. I step forward to follow him but he places his hand on my chest and shakes his head, I understand. He has to do this alone.

I stand and stare for the next few hours as he builds a wooden pyre and wraps up his enemy, ready to incinerate. The bitter air bites at my skin and I begin to wish I hadn't left my coat in the TARDIS.

Darkness falls and he lights a torch. I see him leaning over the Master and, although I'm standing quite far away, can just about make out that he's laying a kiss on his lips. Oh... so it was like _that _huh_?_ He takes a few steps away and lights the fire.

And the Master burns.

The Doctor watches the flames dance sky high. He's too close to the flame, he'll get burnt. He doesn't seem to care. I find myself walking towards him at a gentle pace. I don't intend to approach him, just to go close enough for him to know I'm there, to know he isn't alone.

He falls to his knees and suddenly I find myself running towards him. I kneel beside him once again, yet this time round he's totally lost it. Tears are falling freely down his face and his body is trembling with heartfelt sobs. Back in the day, a tear of a time lord would be worth millions. I wrap my arms around him and hold him against my chest... It's just instinct. He gives in and leans against me, his hand grabbing a chunk of my shirt.

"Shhh..." I say as I run my hand through his hair, trying to comfort him and I wonder...

When was the last time anyone held him like this?


	2. Chapter 2

Alone part 2

So here I am, back at the hub. The Doctor chose to ''forget' what happened the other night, and I'm not going to bring it up. Heck, what would I say?

I hear the door open and spin around, and there they are, the good old gang. Their faces drop and they stop walking, pure shock written on all of their faces.

"Hi kids, did you miss me?" I say smugly, grinning. God, I'm so happy to see them. It's been a year, after all. Ianto is the first to make a move, he runs towards me and we kiss, right in front of the others. Subtle, Ianto, subtle.

Within moments I'm surrounded. Damn, why can't they just accept that I'm back? I don't need all these questions right now.

"Where have you been, Jack? You left us!" Gwen screeches, glaring at me. My god, if looks could kill. A door opens, and everyone's eyes turn to the small corner of the room.

"What the hell is that?" Owen says as the Doctor walks out of the TARDIS. About time, he's been in there for far too long. "...And who the hell is this?" I notice he takes just that bit extra care closing the doors – making sure that they are locked. He doesn't trust us.

"Oh. Hello! You must be team Torchwood!" he beams at them, sauntering up and holding his hand out to Owen. He reluctantly shakes it, but the Doctor soon moves on.

"It's you! Dr. Sato." He quickly moves on to Tosh, those two know each other? She is staring at him as though he just drooled all over his shirt. "Of course! You don't recognise me, I regenerated since I last saw you. Remember when that spaceship crashed into Big Ben and you were examining the mutilated pig alien rip off? I'm the guy with the big ears and leather jacket." That grin... it's brilliant. Seriously, how does he hide his real feelings like that? I thought it'd be a while before the old hyperactive crazy Doctor would show his face again. That's so typical of him, always full of surprises.

"But... you're totally different. How's that possible?"

"I already said, regeneration. Jack, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Sorry. Everyone, meet the Doctor. He's a Time Lord and will be staying here for a while."

"Now hold on a minute, how do we know we can trust him? And what the hell is a 'Time Lord''?" Gwen insists. Well, it's not like when I asked – or rather, ordered the Doctor to stay here I didn't expect all the questions, but I'm the boss, they should trust me.

"Yes, Jack. How do you know that you can trust me?" He chants in a sing-sing voice... I've seen that look before. It's that persuasive gaze he uses when he's trying to put the enemy down. The face he uses when he's questioning a Dalek's intelligence or telling a Slitheen that's about to tear his throat out that she needs to sharpen her claws. Confident and smug; didn't anyone ever teach him not to poke a denned lion with a stick? I glare and grit my teeth at him, a none-verbal threat for him to shut the fuck up. He raises his eyebrow.

"I know I can trust you, Doc. There's no reason on Earth for me not to."  
"You hardly know me, not in this regeneration. I'm a completely different person." Yeah, I noticed. The old Doctor would have snapped the Master's neck before he had chance to kill over one tenth of the population.  
"Which is why you aren't leaving."  
"You can't keep me here against my will, Jack." Now it's his turn to glare. And he's right, if he took off right now there'd be no way for me stop him. I squeeze the bridge of my nose and sigh in frustration.

My gut instinct is to dare him to leave, but my heart (and brain) is holding me back. If he leaves, he'll do something reckless... guaranteed. If there's anything I've learnt in my oh-so-long life, it's how to read people. However unpredictable the Doctor may be, I can tell that if he goes running off into time and space all on his own, he won't come back all in one piece.

"Fine, I'll stay. For now." He says, turning his back and heading back for the TARDIS. I watch as Gwen opens her mouth, I can hear the words 'what the flippin' heck was that all about?' rolling off her tongue, but I'm distracted by the TARDIS de-materialising.

That little liar!

I don't have time to linger on the thought, my wristwatch beeps.

"That never beeps." Ianto says, looking at it and then at me. Someone is trying to get in touch with me... I press a few buttons and a blue holographic projection appears before us.

"Captain John Hart here. How've you been, old friend?"

It can't be him, it just can't be. Of all the times he could have shown up, now is possibly the most awkward. He goes on to tell me to meet him at some bar down town...

No choice, I gotta go.

--

I step into the bar and stare at him, he's doing a fair bit of staring himself. It's as though neither of us can actually believe that the other is standing right in front of him. He doesn't look much different from the last time I saw him – then again, that was more than a hundred years, so I think it's fair to say my memory is quite foggy. It's probably only been ten, maybe twenty years for him.

... he looked better blonde.

We stride towards each other and find our eyes locked in a glare that I fear might never end, but of course it does. He crushes his lips to mine. Don't get me wrong, I'm all up for a good old snog, but this is so different. It isn't soft or sweet...Just how I remember it, how I remember him: harsh and strong, this is more like a battle than a kiss. I'm not complaining. But the thing is, there's nothing there any more. I don't know about him, but I'm a totally different person.

We break apart and before I know it his fist is in my face. Ouch, I love you too. Well, no reason to not return the favour. Before I know what's happening, we're fighting. Proper fist to fist fighting, I haven't had this much action in... well, best not go there. And it's fun. I'm actually grinning and so is he. I push him over a glass table and it gives me just enough time to grab my gun. Naturally, he does the exact sale thing.

Stale mate – and we all know how that ends.

Booze.


End file.
